In a recently published column on iNews, John Whittingdale, the UK’s former Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, made an effort to point to damaging effects of Kodi boxes. The piece also contains numerous interesting facts about the current state of digital piracy in the UK.

During the last two years, more than one million of Kodi boxes were sold in the UK alone. Even though not every Kodi owner uses the application for piracy, most of them do. As you surely know, Kodi doesn’t enable copyright infringement or online streaming by default. This is where third-party addons come into play.

By streaming the latest Hollywood blockbusters as well as other kinds of digital entertainment, pirates are damaging their country’s economy. When it comes to the US, this equals to $4.2 billion a year. For the UK, this goes over $1 billion. This kind of money could be spent on creating new movies and TV shows, Whittingdale adds.

In addition, this doesn’t only relate to payments to stars but also payments to behind-the-scenes professionals like cameraman, sound designers, marketing professionals, and more. In other words, every member of the movie and TV show entertainment industry could feel the direct impact of digital piracy.

What is also interesting to know is that Kodi boxes made it easy to stream digital content. Otherwise, Internet users would have to navigate questionable websites that are usually filled with misleading adverts. Not to mention, malware is always a pressing matter. Kodi boxes have eliminated that fear, even though there is a number of unsafe addons for Kodi.

The end goal of the piece is to warn the public to dangers and effects that digital piracy has. In addition, this is also a strong signal that the UK will continue to fight against Kodi and third-party addons – just like it did until now. It seems like the Kodi box crackdown is just getting started.

What are your thoughts about using Kodi to stream the latest movies? Do you know what it takes to use Kodi legally? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.